1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to disposable wiper products used primarily in industrial applications such as print shops, automobile manufacturing and rapair facilities, and metal fabrication plants. Procedures employed in these applications require a large quantity of wiping products for finishing, clean-up, and other operations. Many of these steps involve hand applications, particularly where polishes and other protective finishes are applied. Furthermore, a large number of wipers are used in personnel clean-up involving hand and face contact. For all these uses and others there are available a wide variety of wiping products including cloth, nonwoven, and paper materials.
In many of these applications, the wipers come in contact with metal chips resulting from machining operations, cutting and other procedures. Particularly with respect to cloth and nonwoven fibrous wipers, these metal chips tend to become entangled and embedded in the wiper frequently resulting in facial and hand cuts and abrasions of personnel subsequently using the wiper. Even laundering of cloth wipers in many cases fails to completely remove metal chips. These chips, furthermore, are particularly troublesome in finishing operations where their presence will many times produce scratching or otherwise marring the surface being finished.
Accordingly, it is desired to produce a wiping material having a reduced tendency to pick up metal chips and produce the above-described undesired results. Further, such a wiper having the added convenience of disposability and wiping characteristics of meltblown materials is desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,705 to Harmon describes a nonwoven fabric formed by combining a fabrillated film with a "standard fibrous web". The combination may be bonded by adhesive or patterned application of heat if thermoplastic fibers are used. Uses for the products are described including "wiping purposes". No examples of wiper materials are given nor is there any suggestion of meltblown microfiber webs. Further, there is no discussion of wiping properties.
An alternative method and apparatus for forming webs of aligned, split filaments suitable for use in the present invention is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,175.
The preparation of polyolefin microfiber webs is also known and described, for example, in Wendt, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Volume 48, Number 8 (1956) pages 1342 through 1346 as well as in U.S. Pat Nos. 3,978,185 to Buntin et al, 3,795,571 to Prentice and 3,811,957 to Buntin. The Buntin et al patent further discloses that mats of meltblown polyolefins are useful in wiping cloths and hydrocarbon absorption materials. However, these publications fail to disclose combinations of meltblown webs with fibrillated films or the improvements that may be obtained thereby.
Copending and coassigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 001,744 to Meitner filed Jan. 8, 1979 and entitled "Microfiber Oil and Water Wipe", abandoned and refiled as Ser. No. 170,904 on July 21, 1980, describes a surfactant treated, meltblown, pattern bonded wiper having improved wiping characteristics.